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Matthew 8:2. And, behold, there came a leper— It has been generally thought, that this is the leper whose cure is recorded, Mark 1:40. Luk 5:12 and consequently that the sermon in Luke is not the same with that in the preceding chapter. But the cures, says Macknight, are different: that was performed in a city, this in the fields. Having cleansed the leper here mentioned, Jesus entered into Capernaum, and cured the centurion's servant; whereas, the other leper having published the miracle, Jesus did not choose, at least in the day-time, to go into the town; but remained without in desart places to shun the crowd. It must be acknowledged, indeed, that there are some things similar in the two cures: for instance,both the lepers say to Christ, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean; but it was so natural to address their desires to the Son of God in this form, by which also they express their belief in his power, that it is rather matter of wonder we do not find it more frequently made use of. Farther, there is the same command given to the lepers to go shew themselves to the priest; but this command must have been repeated not twice, but twenty times, on supposition that Jesus cleansed lepers so often. Accordingly we find him repeating it to the ten lepers, whom he cleansed at one time in Samaria; Luke 17:14. As for the circumstance of his bidding the cured person tell no man what had happened, it occurs almost in every miracle performed by Christ during the two first years of his ministry; the reasons for which see in the note on Matthew 8:4.

The immediate cure of the leprosy was only in the power of God: the leper, therefore,bythisapplication to Christ, immediately confesses his divine authority; but more fully to enter into this subject, the reader should refer to our notes on Leviticus 13:0 and on 2 Kings 5:6-7.

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Matthew 8:3. And Jesus put forth his hand, &c.— Dr. Doddridge supposes that our Saviour took this leper aside from the multitude, without which he thinks there could have been no room for the charge of secresy which Jesus gave. This circumstance certainly happened in another cure. See Mark 8:23. Christ had taught with authority, ch. Mat 7:29 which he immediately confirms by wonderful actions. The priest, after a long trial, pronounced whether a man was cured of his leprosy or not; but Christ healed him with a word. St.Matthew could not have related the matter in more proper terms. This is that sublimity which Longinus so much admires in Moses. See his treatise on the Sublime, sect. 9.

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Matthew 8:4. See thou tell no man— Jesus commanded the leper without all delay to haste to Jerusalem, lest, if the report of his cure should arrive before him, the priests, through envy, might refuse to pronounce him cleansed; for it was the province of the priest to judge of and to determine concerning the leprosy. For a testimony unto them, means to the Jews, and particularly to the priests and Pharisees, who withstood the doctrine of Christ. The sense of the passage is, "that the sacrifice offered by the leper may be a proof of the reality of this miracle, and consequently of my divine mission." These words may also be rendered, that it may be a testimony against them: compare Mark 6:11.Luke 9:5; Luke 9:5. The plain meaning seems to be, "Go without delay, and shew yourself, cleansed as you are, to the priest, and present the sacrifices which the law requires for your purification, that we may convince them of the reality of the cure, and yet not give them any occasion of calumny." But though our Saviour here might enjoin secresy on the leper only till he had shewn himself to the priest; yet he commanded many others to tell none of the miracles he had wrought upon them. It was not in our Lord's plan to be universally received as the Messiah during his abode upon earth in the flesh. Those who had even then sufficient evidence proposed to them of our Lord's divine mission, and notwithstanding rejected it, were utterly inexcusable; but who those were, He alone in most instances could determine, who judges the heart. He was indeed to fulfil all the prophetical characters of the Messiah, that, when the time appointed for his erecting his kingdom arrived, the foundation on which it was to rest might want nothing of the strength and solidity which was necessary to support so great a fabric as the faith of the world. But all those prophetical characters of the Messiah, Jesus fulfilled, and appropriated to himself, when in his own lifetime on the earth he proved his divine mission; and by miracles communicated to a competent number of disciples every thing necessary in order to their propagating it through the world; and in the conclusion, by his sufferings and death, not only confirmed his doctrine, but made atonement for the sins of men. The wisdom of his plan was therefore worthy of its author.

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Matthew 8:5. And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum— St. Luke has related this part of the evangelical history more at large than St. Matthew.The whole may be thus connected: Jesus, having finished his sermon on the mount, as soon as he came down thence, to shew that his words and doctrines pertained both to the Jews and Gentiles, performed two miracles; the one for a Jew, a leper who came to him, the other for a Gentile, a centurion or Roman commander of a hundred soldiers, who was stationed at Capernaum. A servant of this centurion, whose virtue and honesty, obedience and industry, made him very valuable [εντιμος ] in the eyes of his master, lay at home sick of the palsy, in the most grievous stage of the disease, δεινως βασανιζομενος. The centurion, hearing of Jesus (whose fame began now to be spread abroad, and to which his miraculous cure performed at a distance on the son of a nobleman in this same city must have greatly contributed, see John 4:43-53.), but not thinking himself worthy to come unto him, engaged, as St. Luke informs us, the elders of the Jews in his cause, and sent them to intercede with this blessed Person, of whom he had conceived such high notions, on behalf of his afflicted servant. They performed their office punctually; for they came and besoughtour Lord instantly and earnestly, and strengthened their importunity by informing him, that the centurion was worthy for whom he should do this; for he loveth our nation, say they, and, as a proof of it, hath built us a synagogue. Jesus, ever ready to do good, made them no reply, but immediately went with them. The centurion, hearing that he was coming, moved by the most remarkable humility, and judging his house unworthy the presence of so divine a guest, immediately dismissed his friends, to desire the Master not to give himself so great trouble, as to come to the house of one, who judged himself so far from being worthy of this great condescention, that he thought himself not even worthy to come to Jesus: his humble request was, that he would deign to speak the word only, since he was assured that would be sufficient for the recovery of his servant. But humility never yet prevented Christ's approach; and therefore he proceeded on towards the centurion's house; coming near to which, the centurion himself, as St. Matthew here informs us, hastened out to meet him; and thus the sacred historians are easily reconciled, and the history recorded here and in St. Luke appears to be one and the same. However, as Macknight and some others suppose the histories to be different, that I may do justice to the subject, I will subjoin their arguments at the end of the 13th verse.

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Matthew 8:6. My servant— 'Ο παις μου . In Luke he is called δουλος: whence the writers hinted-at at the end of the last note would draw an argument in proof of the difference of these histories; for as παις sometimes signifies son, they would infer, that this centurion came for the cure of his son; that in Luke for the cure of his servant. This argument, however, is by no means conclusive; for it is plain, from several other passages both in sacred and prophane writers, that παις in the Greek, as well as puer in the Latin, is frequently used for servant.

Greviously tormented— Greviously afflicted. The Greek word is not confined, especiallyin the Hellenistic idiom, to the signification oftormented, but often denotes simply (as has been observed by Grotius and Hammond) afflicted or distressed. Palsies are not attended with torment.

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Matthew 8:10. He marvelled— Our Lord's conduct on this occasion by no means implies that he was ignorant before either of the centurion's faith, or of the grounds on which it was built; he knew all fully, before the man spake one word; but he was struck with admiration at the noble notion which this heathen Roman captain had conceived of his power; the passion of admiration being excited by the greatest and most beautiful of any object, as well as by its novelty: Jesus expressed his admiration of the centurion's faith in the praises which he bestowed upon it to them who followed, as he was passing along the streets of Capernaum, with a view to make it the more conspicuous; for he declared publicly, that he had not met with, among the Jews themselves, any one who possessed such just, such elevated conceptions of the power by which he acted, notwithstanding they were, as a nation, the chosen people of God, and enjoyed the benefit of a divine revelation, directing them to believe on him. See Macknight, and Beausobre and Lenfant. It is very remarkable, says Dr. Heylin, that throughout the whole Gospel Jesus is never said to wonder at any thing but faith; which wonder in Christ is to be interpreted as a high expression of esteem. See ch. Matthew 15:28. Now things difficult, rare, and extraordinary in their kind, are the proper objects of admiration: but it may be said, Is not faith the gift of God? and is God's bounty so penurious, and his gifts so rare, that he himself, who has the distribution of them, our Lord I mean, should wonder to find a mind greatly enriched by them? To this we answer, that most indubitably faith is the gift of God, and that a man might as soon create in himself a new sense, as produce a true and lively faith by his own natural abilities: and it was not the gift, but man's persevering acceptance of that gift, which was the subject of Christ's admiration. To pass over what was peculiar in the case of this centurion,—whereof we are not competent judges, as Christ alone discerned his inmost sentiments,—and to bring this matter home to ourselves, we may, upon due reflection, be convinced that divine faith in general, when it is actually received and embraced in the heart of a Christian, produces there such strange and wondrous effects, as cannot but raise our esteem and admiration: for faith is a divine light, by which conscience will presently read us our duty, and urge such mortifying consequences, mixed with the most consolatory, that it is no wonder men shut their eyes against it, when it first begins to glimmer upon their minds. But this matter cannot be more emphatically represented than in the following words of the judicious Dr Barrow: "The first step," says he, "into the Christian state, is a sight and sense of our own weakness, baseness, and misery. We must discern and feel that our mind is very blind, our reason feeble, our will impotent and prone to evil; that out life is void of merit, and polluted with guilt; that our condition is deplorably sad and wretched; that of ourselves we are insufficient to think or do any good, in order to our recovery: whence we are obliged to sore compunction of spirit for our deeds and our case; to humble confession of our sins and miseries; to earnest supplication for mercy and grace, to heal and rescue us from our sad estate. Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner! What shall I do to be saved? Wretched man that I am! &c. are the ejaculations of a soul teeming with faith." It isthen, if the sinner will simply and believingly lay hold on Christ, that the love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him. Romans 5:5.

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Matthew 8:13. Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way— This most evidently proves that the centurion was come out of his house, as we have observed on Matthew 8:5. There is in these words of our Saviour a strong insinuation, thatthe centurion had conceived no higher an idea of his divine power than was just; As thou hast believed, so, &c. After these words many manuscripts read, And the centurion, returning to his house, found that his servant, &c. See Wetstein. This miracle, says Macknight, is generally supposed to have been the same with that related, Luke 7:1; Luk 7:50 yet they seem to have been different. For, 1. According to St. Matthew, it was the centurion's son (παις ) who was sick; whereas, according to Luke, it was his servant (δουλος ). It is true, Luke once uses the Greek word παις, which signifies a son; a circumstance which has led many to confound the two miracles: yet there is little in it, as we are directed to explain that word by the name δουλος, servant, which he uses no less than three times. On theother hand, we are under no necessity to translate the original word παις in Matthew by servant, but upon the supposition that the miracles are the same. 2. Matthew's centurion came in person, being to ask a favour for his son; whereas Luke's centurion, considering with himself that he was to petition Jesus in behalf of a slave, first prevailed with the elders of the town to present his petition: afterwards, on second thoughts, he deputed some intimate friends to hinder Jesus from coming. The maxim indeed of the civilians, that he who causes another to do any thingmay be said to do it himself, is thought by many a sufficient reconciliation of this difference. But it is not so; for though the law establishes that maxim, to render the execution of justice effectual, it cannot well be allowed in history; the perfection of which lieth in the exactness of the narration. And therefore, seeing Matthew has expresslyaffirmed that the centurion came beseeching Jesus; that Jesus said to him, I will come, &c. that the centurion answered, I am not worthy, &c. and that Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee: to interpret these things as said to a man's friends, would be extremely harsh, and contrary to all the rules of history. 3. There is not the smallest hint given in Matthew, that the centurion of whom he speaks was a proselyte. On the contrary, there is an insinuation that he was not, in the opposition that is stated between his faith and the faith of the Israelites; and in the declaration which our Lord was pleased to make on this occasion; viz. that many should come from the east and west, that is, from all countries, and sit down in the kingdom of God while the children of the kingdom, who looked on themselves as having the only natural right to it, should be excluded for ever. Whereas the centurion of whom St. Luke speaks was a lover of the Jewish nation, and had built them a synagogue, perhaps in Italy, or some other heathen country; and so was, in all probability, a proselyte of righteousness; for which cause the principal people of the town cheerfully undertook to solicit Jesus in his behalf. On the other hand, there are three similar circumstances attending these miracles, which have made the bulk of readers confound them. 1. They were both performed in the town of Capernaum, after Jesus had preached sermons which in substance are pretty much the same. To this I reply, that these sermons were different; the one in Matthew having been preached on a mountain; whereas that in Luke was delivered on a plain, Luke 17:2. Both the centurions dwelt in Capernaum. But this might easily happen; as in the space of twelve or fourteen months different companies of Roman soldiers in Herod's pay, with their officers, may have been stationed there: or there may have been two centurions in Capernaum at the same time, whose soldiers might be quartered in the town and the neighbouring villages. 3. Both centurions made the same speech to Jesus, the one in person, the other by his friends; Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come, &c. But this circumstance may be accounted for in the following manner: As the faith of the first centurion, who was a heathen, took its rise from the extraordinary cure which Jesus had performed on the nobleman's son, the address of the second might take its rise from the success of the first; which could not miss of being well known both in the town and country. Much encouraged, therefore, by that instance of Christ's goodness, the second centurion might expect something on behalf of his slave, especially as he was himself not a heathen by religion, but a proselyte to Moses, and a lover of the Jews, and had built them a synagogue: besides, he had engaged the elders of the city to present his petition. However, when the elders were gone, recollecting his brother centurion's speech, that had been so favourably received, he bethought himself of sending some friends, with the same speech improved by this farther circumstance of humility, that he did not think himself worthy so much as to come into Christ's presence. See Luke 7:6-7. This being an eminent instance of faith and humility, Jesus would not let it pass without due approbation. He honoured it with the same high encomium which he had passed on the like faith and humility in the other centurion: only, as this was not a heathen by religion, he did not, as formerly, set his faith and the reward of it in opposition to the faith of the Jews. This opposition he stated afterwards, when one asked him, Are there few to be saved? Luke 13:28. To conclude: that two centurions should have had one his son, and the other his slave, cured in Capernaum, withlikecircumstances,isno more improbable, than that the temple should have been twice purged, the multitude twice fed, and the fishes twice caught by miracle, and with the same circumstances.

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Matthew 8:14. And when Jesus was come— After this, Jesus going into Peter's house, saw there his wife's mother lying sick of a fever. This was the house into which Jesus was used to retire at Capernaum. See Mar 1:21 and Luke 4:31. Peter was of Bethsaida, which was at a little distance from Capernaum; John 1:44. This event happened after the cure wrought upon the demoniac in the synagogue, spoken of by St. Mark and St. Luke in the passages above quoted.

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